Yaketsuki
by Pirate Shinju
Summary: Itachi has a problem that only Sakura can fix. What starts out as something so little evolves into so much more... [Itachi X Sakura] Rated for language possible intense violence.
1. Chapter 1

**Yaketsuki**

By Pirate Shinju.

Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto…. That's his name, right?

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**Chapter 1. – Surechigai (chance encounter)**

_**See the stone set in your eyes**_

_**See the thorn twist in your side**_

_**I wait for you…**_

"And in the meantime, Sakura, I want you to take so time off." the fifth Hokage said, surveying her student with a frown.

Sakura, now 16, had matured beyond recognition since her genin days. Her body had developed sufficient curves and her facial features had lost its round, girlish look. Her hair was shoulder length in all its bright pink glory and her eyes were as green as ever. She had become quite attractive to the opposite sex, but paid little attention to their advances. Hell, forget the stick. She had to beat the guys off with a tree! She had matured not only physically, but mentally as well. This probably had something to do with the loss of Sasuke.

Despite the beauty she had received over the years, most of her looks were drained from fatigue and overwork. Her body was a bit on the thin side, as if she had been eating only here and there for several weeks. There were dark circles under her eyes and she had fallen asleep at her desk earlier this afternoon. Sakura had a habit of pushing herself in training and in her work as a medic.

Tsunade was quite proud of her student for all that she had accomplished. The girl had gone farther in her skills than anyone expected of her in such a short amount of time. Hell, Tsunade was even willing to admit that it was quite possible that her student had outranked her in medical skills. The young girl had come up with a remedy for a disease that was thought to be incurable! Not to mention the fact that she had just become a jounin last week. However, the fifth Hokage was very concerned about Sakura's health if she continued to live like that.

"W-What?" Sakura stammered, taken aback. "But why?"

"Sakura, you are at the hospital or training more than you are at home. I hope you know that your body is not going to last if you keep this up. You haven't been sleeping much."

"But, Tsunade-sensei--"

"No buts, Sakura." the older woman replied in a tone that left no room for arguments. "You can handle taking a week's worth of R-&-R…"

Tsunade didn't even flinch when Sakura slammed her fists on the oak desk.

"And what do you expect me to do for a week!" the pink-haired kunoichi exclaimed angrily. "Sit on my ass and do a crossword?"

"Not necessarily." Tsunade replied. "Just do what a normal teenager your age would do. Relax. And have fun. You're growing up too fast, kiddo."

Seeing that there was no way out of it, Sakura turned on her heel and left the Hokage's office in a huff.

----------

"The examination is over." the elderly medic said. "You may get up now, Itachi-san."

Itachi sat up from his lying positing on the operation table and stood up, reaching for his Akatsuki cloak, that was lying on a chair not far away. He made eye contact with the old medic's assistant, a girl in her teens, who looked away and blushed deeply. He could practically smell her fear. He turned his hard stare back on the medic, who also looked a bit uncomfortable and avoided eye contact.

Everyone feared him.

"Speak." Itachi ordered.

The medic, Wakamiya Jiro, was an elderly man who lived in a nearby village. When needed, he would sometimes be called to the Akatsuki to take care of its members when they were sick or injured. His assistant, Wakamiya Mina, happened to be his granddaughter. Said man visibly shrank under the Uchiha's gaze, a little unsure about telling the intimidating man the bad news.

"I'm afraid there is nothing I can do." Wakamiya finally said. "I have never seen anything like it and I wouldn't know where to begin…"

Itachi nodded in understanding, much to the medic's relief.

"The only thing I could think to tell you is to seek out Tsunade-sama, but that would be a death wish, even for you…"

Fastening his cloak around himself, Itachi abruptly strode to the door. He saw no point in staying any longer.

"W-wait… I may know a way." a small voice spoke up.

Itachi halted and Wakamiya turned to look at his granddaughter with wide eyes. The sharingan user looked at her as well.

"Mina… What do you think you are doing?" Wakamiya asked incredulously.

"I said that I may know a way." she said with a bit more confidence. "There's this girl… I don't know her name or anything. But I've heard rumors."

"Continue." Itachi said with slight interest. Not that he showed it, of course.

"She's Tsunade-sama's apprentice, and it is said that she has surpassed even her mentor in her medical skills."

"Impossible!" Wakamiya exclaimed angrily. "Where did you hear such things?"

Before she could even answer, the sound of a door closing signaled Itachi's sudden departure.

----------

"Sasori… Deidara… Was the mission a success?" the low voice of the Akatsuki leader said, face concealed by the shadows.

"Hai…" they both responded in unison.

"Good. I have a very important mission for you. Details will be given later."

The two art-obsessed ninja bowed to show that they understood.

"Itachi."

"Hai."

"What was Mr. Wakamiya's diagnosis?" The other Akatsuki members in the room looked at Itachi curiously, wondering what their leader was talking about. It wasn't everyday that Itachi had a problem, but they didn't dare ask.

"He said there was nothing he could do." Itachi answered truthfully.

"If this problem isn't solved, I won't hesitate to kill you." the fearsome man hidden in the shadows said without remorse. "This could weaken you considerably, and I won't have someone in the Akatsuki who is weak."

By now, the other Akatsuki members were looking back and forth between them, curiosity evident.

"It is being taken care of." Itachi replied, bowing lowly.

----------

"Hey, Sakura-chan! What have you been up to lately?" Naruto exclaimed, approaching at a jog.

"Zip. Nada. Nothing." She said bitterly. "Tsunade made me take time off. This has by far been the worst week of my life. I've had nothing to do."

Naruto had certainly changed in the past year. Now, at sixteen, he had grown much taller. He must have hit a growth spurt or something. He had also allowed his hair to grow a bit longer and his face had lost some of the cubby roundness that comes with early youth. He was beginning to look a lot like the forth Hokage… He had advanced past both chuunin and jounin exams within the remarkable time of a year and was now ANBU. Training with Jiraiya had clearly had its benefits.

"Well, if you ask me, I think you needed it." he said in a serious, un-Naruto-like tone that momentarily threw her off. "You were looking pretty crappy for a while."

"Well, gee. Thanks, I guess." she replied sarcastically.

"No problem, Sakura-chan." he smiled cheerfully. Suddenly, his face fell and he looked at Sakura with seriousness once again. He looked worried about something. "By the way, Sakura-chan… Have you by any chance seen Hinata-chan today?"

"No, why? Did you two have a lover's spat?" she teased, causing him to go red with embarrassment. She smiled. Naruto had started dating Hinata about 6 months ago. On his sixteenth birthday, she had finally told him how she felt and since then they hit it off. He absolutely loved her to death.

"No! C'mon, Sakura-chan, stop laughing! It's not like that!" He exclaimed defensively but smiled anyway. "It's just… she was supposed to meet me for ice cream yesterday and she never showed. And I didn't see her at all today either."

Sakura frowned.

"Hinata? Miss an appointment?" she questioned. He nodded. Her frown deepened as she thought of where the Hyuuga girl could be. It wasn't like her to miss meeting someone. She was always on time and always made sure to make it, even if she is not feeling well.

"I even checked her house… They said that she never came home last night and if I have any information of her whereabouts, I had better tell them." Naruto added. "Of course, they said all this with the delicacy and kindness of a Hyuuga…" he finished sarcastically.

"That's strange…" Sakura replied worriedly. She made eye contact with Naruto whose eyes were filled with worry.

"…"

"…"

"…Don't worry, Naruto-kun." Sakura said softly, touching his back reassuringly. "Maybe she was sent on an important mission that required her immediate attention. I'm sure she's fine."

"Yeah… You're right." he looked at her with brilliant blue eyes full of mischief that never went away despite his hardships. She looked at him with a sad smile. "I'll go look around the village for her to see if she's around. She's gotta be somewhere. Bye, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura waved at his departing figure, sad smile still in place. Ever since Sasuke had left, she had become very close to Naruto and had come to think of him as a brother. In a sense, he was all she had left.

"Haruno-san!"

Sakura turned to face who called her and was faced with one of Tsunade's messengers. This can't be good. Tsunade only sent her messengers when it was an emergency.

"Lady Hokage must speak with you immediately!"

----------

When Sakura entered Tsunade's office, she was surprised to see that an ANBU captain, Neji, as well as Shikamaru, Kiba, and Shino were there as well, each with confused looks on their faces. The four of them had not changed much since they were fifteen, aside from gaining a bit of height. All of them had become ANBU, lead by Neji. They were obviously wondering why they were called there.

"What's going on here?" she asked.

"I'll let everyone else know as soon as--"

A resounding bang made everyone jump as an overactive blonde suddenly burst through the doors.

"--Naruto gets here." Tsunade finished with a sigh.

"Old Tsunade!" Naruto exclaimed. The Hokage's eye twitched ever so slightly. "What's going on? Why is everyone here? Is there a new mission?"

"Pipe down and take a seat, Naruto." she snapped, angered by the 'old' comment.

Naruto say down with a disgruntled look on his face.

"So what is this about?" Neji finally asked.

"Hinata was reported missing by the head of the Hyuuga house about half an hour ago." Tsunade said tiredly. "I think she may have been kidnapped, but I'm not sure why. There are much easier targets to go after for the Byakugan."

Their reactions were exactly as she predicted. Shikamaru sat up strait from his lazy slump, Sakura's eyes widened to twice their original size, Shino's skin started to shift as the bugs within him got overexcited, and Neji clenched his fists. Kiba and Naruto were the noisy ones.

"WHAT?" they shouted in unison.

"You heard me…" Tsunade sighed, rubbing her temples. "As you may very well know, Hyuuga, Hinata never came home last night. So she has been missing since yesterday." Neji nodded curtly. "That is why I brought you all here so soon. If I wait any longer, you may not be able to track them."

"How much information do we have about her whereabouts?" Shikamaru questioned.

"We don't know who kidnapped her or why, and we don't know what they are capable of. Hell, we don't even know if she was kidnapped or not! All we know is that Hinata is missing and we need to bring her back as soon as possible. That's why I'm sending you ANBU to recover her. Lee would be going with you too, but he is currently away on a mission with Tenten."

"But, Tsunade-sensei, why are you sending me?" Sakura questioned.

"Just a precaution."

"But she's not ANBU!" Naruto exclaimed. "She only barely became jounin last week. What if it gets dangerous?"

"Are you saying that I'm vulnerable to danger?" Sakura growled dangerously. "Want me to show you how vulnerable I can be?" she cracked her knuckles menacingly and Naruto backed away with his hands raised, as if to surrender.

"I need her to go in case Hinata has in any way been harmed. Report back as soon as you find her. Avoid fights if possible, even if it means running away. I want this to go as smoothly as possible."

"Hai." With that said, they all disappeared in a cloud of smoke. The Hokage coughed and gagged while trying to wave away the offending substance.

"I hate it when they do that…"

----------

Sakura stormed through the woods angrily. Nothing was going her way today.

After leaving Tsunade's office, they met at Konoha's gate after ten minutes of packing and preparing for the mission. Neji, who was the squad leader, worked together with Shikamaru to come up with the best way to carry out the mission, and settled on dividing the group into two search parties. The two groups consisted of Neji, Shikamaru, and Shino on one team and Naruto, Kiba, and Sakura on the other. Once Neji laid out the plans for the ground each group was to cover, they were off.

Sakura's group had hardly been at it for two hours when they stumbled upon 5 Akatsuki. Strangely, they didn't recognize any of them, but Naruto claimed that there was something familiar about their smell.

FLASHBACK

"_Shit!" said Naruto, withdrawing a few Kunai from his leather pouch._

"_Wait, Naruto!" Kiba exclaimed, grabbing the Kyuubi vessel by the wrist. "Don't do anything stupid. We are outnumbered."_

"_He's right, Naruto-kun." Sakura added. "Tsunade told us to avoid fights. Let's get out of here while we still can."_

END FLASHBACK

Now, she was wandering around deep in a forest with no sign of Naruto or Kiba anywhere. How did she end up in a place like this, you wonder? Well, she doesn't know. One moment she was following her teammates through the trees and the next she was walking through a deeper part of the forest than before. She doesn't remember how or when she got here.

On top of the fact that she had no idea where she was, it was dark. The trees were much closer together than before and very little light made it through the dense canopy of the trees. She forced herself not to panic and instead kept moving.

Instead, Sakura focused on her anger and how the world was against her.

"NARUTO-KUN!" she screamed, hoping someone could hear her. "NEJI-KUN! KIBA! SOMEONE!" He eyes filled with angry tears and she furiously wiped them away, cursing herself for her weakness.

"They can't hear you." a low voice that seemed to come from every direction suddenly said, making her jump. "You are miles away from any civilization. Your friends are in Konoha by now."

"Who said that?" she exclaimed, shuriken in hand. "Show yourself!" She frowned when no one answered. She couldn't sense anyone's chakra, so she found that odd. Thinking she must have imagined it, she started to move again, glancing around warily as she did so.

A split second later, she came upon a forest clearing. She sighed in relief, for the tightness of the trees was starting to make her feel claustrophobic. It was much easier to think about her next move this way. She looked at her surroundings a bit, but didn't recognize the place. How the hell did she get here? Could she have been under the influence of a genjutsu?

Her spine went rigid and her hands clenched when she suddenly felt warm breath on her neck.

"Hello, little Kunoichi."

Gasping, she whirled around and found herself inches away from the chest of a man clad in a black Akatsuki cloak. Ever so slowly, she raised her head and looked upon the face of Uchiha Itachi.

_Oh shit…_she thought.

----------

Sasori and Deidara entered the Akatsuki base wordlessly. They weren't in a very good mood, to say the least. Their mission was a success, but it was a lot more troublesome than it should have been. Unfortunately, they were sent to assassinate someone with a unique bloodline limit: The ability to control the air and wind. Sasori had lost a few of his favorite puppets, and Deidara… well… he was pissed because the wind kind of messed up his hair and made it frizzy. So tragic.

By the time they made it to the kitchen (neither of them had eaten in days… not that Sasori needed food.), they were already in another argument about art.

"I don't give a crap what you say… yeah." Deidara was saying. "Art is a bang. It should be just a single moment of beauty… yeah."

"I disagree. It should be about eternal beauty. It isn't worthwhile if it doesn't last for you to admire." Sasori replied.

"You're so full of sh-- What the hell?" Deidara suddenly exclaimed, much to Sasori's surprise.

"What is it?" the redhead inquired.

"What the hell?" Deidara repeated, pointing at the huddled mess of a girl on the floor who was bound and gagged. "Who the hell left a hostage in the middle of the kitchen floor? ...yeah."

"Kisame most likely." Sasori replied, inspecting the dark-haired girl. "He's always been sloppy about things…"

Hinata squealed through the cloth restricting her mouth at the sight of the two Akatsuki members and struggled against her bindings. Sasori and Deidara looked at each other, both wondering what they should do with her.

----------

Sakura tried to back away from the Uchiha but only felt rough bark on her back as it made contact with one of the ancient trees. She felt her heart quicken its pace and pound in her ears as she gazed at his fearsome face and blood red eyes. It took all the willpower she possessed not to close her eyes and curl up into a little ball. Instead, she remained focused on the only half of his face that wasn't concealed by the cloak.

"Uchiha… Itachi…" she heard herself say. She started when he reached up and unlatched the top part of his cloak, revealing his entire face and his slender neck. He wore a choker with small white ornaments. Something about it seemed so familiar, but she couldn't imagine how.

"You know who I am." he stated. "Good. This will make things go smoother… Sakura-chan." His voice was deep and smooth; what some women would find downright sexy, but she wasn't about to fall into his alluring trap. She had something more alarming on her mind.

"How the hell do you know my name?" she questioned in shock.

"You don't remember?" Itachi said, smirking in amusement. "I suppose you wouldn't. You were so young…"

"Cut the crap!" Reaching for a kunai, she abruptly froze in shock and fear when she felt the sharp tip of a kunai at her throat. Itachi placed his other hand on the tree by the left side of her face as he moved even closer.

Glaring at him with all the hatred she could muster, she silently cursed herself as a blush spread across her face from the closeness. Hell, he was so close that his breath fanned across her face. She would be lying to herself if she said he wasn't good-looking, because he most certainly was. His smooth, pale skin glowed in the dim light given off by the moon and his long, black hair that was tied at the base of his neck looked soft to the touch. His facial features were feminine without appearing womanly. In other words, he was quite possible the most gorgeous man she had ever seen.

_WTF? Stop thinking like that, you idiot!_ she inwardly scolded herself. _This man is Akatsuki and the killer of the Uchiha clan. He's the reason Naruto and Sasuke have been suffering!_

**_Oh, lighten up._ **Inner Sakura replied. **_Just look at him! What a babe!_**

…_You have no shame, do you?_

_**Shut up.**_

"What do you want from me, you bastard?" she spat with new found strength. He said nothing, only continued to gaze at her. He seemed to be choosing his words carefully.

Without thinking, Sakura raised her head and looked into his eyes. She had been trying to avoid looking directly into them because of all the things she had heard about him and the Magekyo. She gasped at what she saw.

Something wasn't right, and her medic eyes spotted it immediately. Her eyes widened with a sudden realization.

"You're blind…"

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Author's note: I've wanted to start an ItachiSakura fic for quite a while now but I haven't had a good solid plot to go off of until now. This may end up being a trilogy of fics, but I'm still deciding. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter though. I had a lot of time today so it's kind of long… Sorry 'bout that. I'll have the next chapter up any day now, so keep an eye out for it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Yaketsuki**

By Pirate Shinju.

…Why must I do this? Ugh. Naruto isn't mine… yet…

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**Chapter 2. – Sarawareta (kidnapped)**

Itachi smirked then, amusement evident on his usually impassive face. He lowered the kunai from her throat and backed away slightly, but still kept uncomfortably close. He watched as her hand automatically went to rub her neck before speaking.

"You are a smart little kunoichi." the Uchiha said.

"How bad has it gotten?" she asked without thinking, out of pure curiosity.

"…enough."

Becoming irritated by him dodging and ignoring her questions, she snapped.

"DAMMIT, TELL ME WHY THE HELL I'M HERE! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT WITH ME?" she exclaimed at the top of her voice. Itachi inwardly cringed and resisted the temptation to rip her throat out. He knew how to keep his temper in check, but noisy people irritated him.

"You are here because I need your help." was the stoic man's answer.

"And what the hell makes you think that I would help you, you asshole!" reaching for her kunai she was surprised to see that her weapons pouch was gone.

_When did--?_

Before she could even finish that thought, Itachi had her raised above the ground by her throat with her back shoved roughly into the bark of the tree. Gripping his forearm, she clenched her teeth and gasped for breath.

"I don't think you have a choice here, little Kunoichi." he said darkly, once again bringing his face near hers. "You see, your little friend… Miss Hinata, was it? ...is currently being held captive at the Akatsuki base.

Sakura's eyes widened in shock and despair upon hearing this as she continued to struggle against his grip on her throat.

"So unless you want her to get hurt, You will cooperate, understood?"

"Y-yes…" She gasped as she desperately struggle for oxygen.

He suddenly released her and she fell onto the cool and damp forest floor in a coughing fit, gasping for breath and clutching her throat. Looking up, she saw that Itachi was towering over her and seemed to be contemplating something. Finally, he kneeled down in front of her and took her chin into his hand, forcing her to look up at him.

"If you try anything, both you and Miss Hinata will die."

Glaring at him hatefully, Sakura gave a curt nod to show that she understood. Her eyes widened momentarily as she felt him stick a syringe into the juncture connecting her neck and shoulder. Before she could do anything, however, he injected a strange substance in her system. The effects of the drug automatically started taking its effect. Her vision was starting to blur.

As she slumped forward, Itachi's hand shot out to catch her. She vaguely remembered Itachi slinging her onto his shoulder as if she were nothing more than a pillow. The last thing she remembered before blacking out was her face making contact with his back as she breathed in a scent that was strangely soothing…

----------

Hinata was no longer tied up. On the contrary, she was currently sitting at a small table across from two Akatsuki members who in a heated argument about art, of all things. She was quite confused, to say the least. One moment, she was heading over to an ice cream parlor for a date with Naruto, and the next was tied up in some weird kitchen at God only knows where. She felt like screaming.

"So… you said you name was Hinata, right?" she jumped upon being addressed to and looked up at the one with long, blonde hair covering one of his eyes. Her cheeks flushed and she nodded. She timidly accepted the tea he held out to her. Looking into the cup, she inwardly wondered if it was poisoned.

"There's nothing wrong with it." the red-headed one assured her.

Still not completely trusting them, she took a sip anyway. Chai. She had been wondering where the smell of cinnamon was coming from.

"Well, Hinata-chan." Deidara grinned at her. "Tell me, what are your opinions on art?...yeah. Do you think it's a bang or eternal beauty?"

Hinata looked from one to the other in disbelief.

----------

"HOW THE HELL COULD YOU LOSE TRACK OF SAKURA, YOU IDIOTS?" Tsunade shouted in rage. Naruto, Shikamaru, Neji, and the others visibly shrank away in fear of getting the crap beat out of them by the anger crazed woman.

"Um… Tsunade-sa--" Naruto began timidly but was cut off once again.

"I'M NOT THROUGH WITH YOU YET! I SEND YOU OUT TO SAVE A COMRADE AND YOU END UP LOSING ANOTHER ONE! ON TOP OF THAT, YOU DIDN'T EVEN RESCUE THE ONE YOU SET OUT TO GET! YOU CALL YOURSELVES SHINOBI? YOU MUST ALWAYS PROTECT A TEAM'S MEDIC! ALL OF YOU HAD BETTER GET YOUR ASSES OUT THERE AND FIND THEM!"

There was a moment of silence in which nobody dared to move.

"NOW!"

Everyone tripped over each other in an attempt to reach the door first.

Tsunade sighed and reached for the small framed photo on her desk of her and Sakura. It was taken recently, and it was the day when Sakura first became a Jounin. Both of them were smiling. Sakura was like a daughter to her. She didn't know what she would do if she lost her.

_Sakura…_she thought, rising from her chair. _You'd better be alright._

_----------_

Sakura's brow creased as she started to come to. She was laying facedown on something hard… and cold. Without opening her eyes, she shifted slightly, only to wince as she felt pain shoot through her lower back; most likely caused from the awkwardness of how she had been laying. After struggling with all her might, she forced her heavy eyelids open and was met with the sight of the concrete floor.

Thoroughly confused, she turned over abruptly and sat up, only to regret it as more pain shot through her back. Stretching a bit to relieve the pain, she took in her surroundings.

She was in a small, square room with stone walls. In the corner was a ragged blanket and what looked to have been a futon in a past life. There were also shackles attached to one of the stone walls and there were blood stains in various places in the room. The place reeked of death and it made her feel queasy.

_Where am I? _she wondered in astonishment. _How did I get here?_

_**HEL-LO! **_inner Sakura remarked. **_The gorgeous brother of Sasuke-kun, remember?_**

_Oh… yeah…_ she thought, remembering what happened in the forest. She clenched her fists as a wave of fury passed over her. _That no-good asshole drugged me! DRUGGED ME! _She looked at the walls more carefully and realized that she could easily break through with all the training she had received from Tsunade. _And then he underestimates me. This is just great._

Sakura made to gather as much Chakra into her hand as possible, but doubled over in pain as a bolt of agony shot through her body.

_What.. the fuck… did they do to me?_ She wondered in shock. Suddenly, an idea came to mind. _It must have been something in the drug! It will only let me use a small amount of Chakra at a time._ _They must know about my sensei._

_**Don't worry about that now! Try the door!**_

Sakura looked to where her Inner self has indicated and saw a door which was unfortunately made out of steel.

"…are you kidding me?" she said aloud.

**_Well, jeez It was just a suggestion…_**

_You must be insane. _Sakura thought as she reached out to turn the handle. _There is no way in hell that elite S-class Akatsuki members would be stupid enough to--_

The door opened.

"…oh."

**_What morons._**

_Yeah, no kidding…_

Unsure if it was a trap, Sakura inspected the doorway but found no hidden contrapments of any kind. She peeked her head out and looked down the hallways on both sides. Nothing. None was there.

Tentatively, she stepped into the hallway. Nothing. No hidden traps. However, she did find her weapons stashed in a small cubby outside of the room. How lucky is that?

Wondering what the hell was going on, she made her way down the halls in search of an exit. Gazing at her well-lit surroundings, she took in the stone walls that matched the room she had come from, but they were much more taken care of, for they didn't have as many cracks. The floors had blood red carpeting. The halls went in many directions and she felt as if she were in a maze.

As she wandered the halls in search of an exit or a window of some sort, she wondered why she was brought here in the first place. Itachi had said something about needing her help, but she couldn't see how she would be of any help to Uchiha Itachi, the most powerful and fearsome man she had ever met. There was also something else Itachi had said which had been bothering her.

_He knew my name. And he claims that we have met before..._

She could not recall ever meeting Uchiha Itachi, even when she was a child. In fact, the only time she had seen him was when she, Kakashi, Naruto, and Chiyo were confronted by a member of Suna's council who took his shape. But that could hardly qualify as 'meeting him.'

Her train of thought abruptly came to a halt when she came across double oak doors. Thinking this could possible be the way out, she leapt forward and wrenched the doors open…

…And her heart nearly stopped.

Instead of finding an exit to freedom, she found herself in an enormous room with a large oak table in the middle. It looked to be a dining room of some sort, but that wasn't the worst part. There were three Akatsuki members in there who all turned to look at her as she entered.

**_Dude, you must have bad Karma or something…_** Inner Sakura remarked.

_Just shut up so I can figure a way out of this._ she thought as her emerald eyes darted between the three criminals in fear.

"Well, it seems as if your Kunoichi has awaken." a harsh, rough voice growled from her left. She turned to see who it came from and was astonished to see a tall man, if you could call him a man. He had rough, blue sandpaper-like skin and spiky dark hair. He somewhat resembled a shark. She guessed that this was Hoshigake Kisame, for Naruto had told her about him a while back. The sharp, pointy teeth revealed by his sneer made her feel sick.

"Hey, I think she's cute… yeah." This voice came from across the room. Her gaze wandered over to the one who spoke and she was momentarily thrown off. The voice was deep, but upon glancing at him, he appeared to be a woman.

This one by far looked the most pleasant of the Akatsuki members she had come in contact with in the past. Although, this isn't saying much. Even Orochimaru's company is preferred over some of these criminals. His almost platinum blonde hair was done up in a high ponytail aside from some hair that covered the entire left side of his face. Whatever hair that was left hung down his back and down past his left shoulder. The only visible eye she could see was a brilliant blue color and he was grinning at her cheerfully. He kind of looked like a male version of Ino.

She tore her eyes away from his inviting smile and instead focused on the third person in the room, who happened to be the last person she wanted to see: Uchiha Itachi.

"I… you… uh…" she stammered, obviously at a loss for words.

Itachi said nothing as he gazed at her. She was scared, to say the least. It wasn't as if he was staring at her with intent to kill. It was the complete and utter lack of emotion that terrified her. His face held less emotion than that of a dead fish. Even Sasuke had never been this bad. For the longest time, Sakura was wondering what kind of man could kill his entire family, the ones who loved him and brought him into this world. Now, as she gazed at the man before her, she believed it. He was a ruthless murderer, and he didn't give a damn.

"I…" she quickly tried to think of an excuse. "I came to deliver girl scout cookies!" she plastered a fake smile on her face as they all gave her weird looks. Well, Itachi didn't really. He just raised an eyebrow.

**_You moron! _**Inner Sakura exclaimed, slapping a hand to her forehead. **_What the hell are girl scout cookies!_**

_I don't know!_ Sakura inwardly wailed, wishing she could crawl in a hole. She started when she heard the blonde man chuckle.

"She an amusing one… yeah." he said. "I'd better be going. Nice to see you again, Itachi-san, Fish-face." With that said, he approached Sakura and, giving her a small wink, brushed past her and closed the door behind him.

"Well, I think I have the wrong house, so I'll just show myself out-- ACK!" Sakura turned to dash out the door and instead smashed into the hard chest of a man. Rubbing her throbbing nose, she stumbled back upon realizing that it was Itachi she had run into.

"You shouldn't be here, little Kunoichi." Itachi said.

"Why did you bring me here?" she snapped. "And don't call me that!" She felt anger well up within her when he merely ignored her.

"You should be in your cell, but apparently the one who put you there forgot to lock the door." he turned his hard gaze on Kisame.

"Oops." Kisame said. "Won't happen again."

"Then take her back to her cell." Itachi replied, turning away from Sakura.

Kisame made to grab her but stopped short when the pink-haired kunoichi launched towards Itachi in blind anger, kunai out. Before she could stab his retreating back however, his figure vanished before he eyes and appeared behind her. Itachi yanked her head back by her hair and held her own kunai to her exposed throat. Leaning down until his mouth was right by her ear, he began to whisper in her ear.

"Don't do anything foolish." he said. "I will be in your cell later tonight to discuss our agreement.

In one deft movement, she was shoved to the ground and once again stripped of all her weapons. Kneeling next to her, Itachi made to press a pressure point. Rolling his eyes, Kisame stepped forward and hit the back of her head with his Samehada hard enough so that the sound of metal on a skull resounded through the room, knocking her out cold.

There was a moment of silence in which Itachi merely stared at Kisame quietly. Finally, the Uchiha spoke.

"Was that really necessary?"

Kisame shrugged and picked up the unconscious Kunoichi and slung her onto his shoulder.

"If she experiences brain damage or memory loss, I will kill you personally." Itachi said without a trace of malice. "Her skills are useless to me if she can't even recall how to use them." With that said, he silently left the room.

For a moment, Kisame stared in silence at Sakura, worry evident. After a couple of minutes, he shrugged and carried her from the room.

"I didn't hit her that hard." he reassured himself.

----------

For the second time that day, Sakura woke up in that damned stone room with the concrete floors. And once again, whoever had put her in there had avoided the futon completely and had unceremoniously dumped her on the hard floor. A few seconds after opening her eyes, a splitting pain shot through her head and down her spine.

Letting out a strangled cry, she curled into fetal position and clenched her head in agony.

Vaguely, Sakura remembered being hit over the head from behind, so she figured that it must have been that Kisame guy.

"ooowwwwww…" she groaned. "Stupid fucking fish-face cocksucker…"

"I see you're awake." A voice suddenly said. She recognized it immediately as being Itachi's. Sakura wondered how a man so fearsome and heartless could have a voice so soft and calm. She had never heard him so much as raise his voice in the slightest since she met him. Even when he was threatening someone, his voice remained so quiet.

"What did he hit me for?" Sakura moaned in reply. She gathered as much Chakra into her fingers as the drug would allow and channeled it into her head to relieve some of the pain. Itachi smirked.

"Well, the 'stupid fucking fish-faced cocksucker', as you so charmingly called him, is not one for elegance."

Once she finished healing herself for the most part, Sakura turned to glare at Itachi.

"Can we just skip to the chase? What do you need my help for?"

Itachi merely stared at her with his stone gaze and remained silent. She hated this about him. He always contemplates every question and calculates what he is going to say. It drove her crazy with waiting. Finally, he replied.

"I want you to heal my eyes." he said. Her eyes widened.

"Wha-- but I can't!" she exclaimed.

"Can't or won't?"

"I won't betray my village!" she said defiantly, forcing herself to her feet and balling her fists at her side. "I would rather die!"

"Is your loyalty really worth the life of the Hyuuga girl?" Itachi questioned in that sickeningly soft voice of his.

_Shit. I forgot about Hinata. _she thought. _I have no choice, then…_

"Fine." she looked down in defeat. "I'll do whatever you ask."

"Good." he approached the pink-haired Kunoichi and stopped when he was inches from her. Keeping her eyes glued to the ground, she started when she felt his cool fingers on her chin. Ever so slowly, he guided her face up to look at him, but her eyes remained looking down.

"Look at me." he ordered quietly.

More out of reflex, her emerald green eyes rose to meet his. Bad mistake. Before she could even blink, she was pulled into the Mangekyou and was faced with a world of red and black. Her greatest horrors were realized in this place, and she would never forget the things she saw.

----------

Itachi exited the room without glancing back at the unconscious Kunoichi who was whimpering on the floor. Glancing up, he saw that Kisame had been standing there the whole time.

"Was it really necessary to use the Mangekyou?" the shark man questioned.

"She needed to be put in her place." was all the Uchiha said in reply.

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Author's note: Well, there you have it. Chapter two. I want to say thank you to all those who gave this fic a chance. I really enjoyed your reviews. By the way, I am considering adding a slight amount of Deidara X Sakura, but not much. Only if you are all okay with it, though. Tell me what you think. Ideas are welcome and appreciated. Review please!


	3. Chapter 3

**Yaketsuki**

By Pirate Shinju

YES! IT'S MINE! NARUTO'S ALL MINE! (shrinks under Kishimoto's glare) Uh…. Maybe not…

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**Chapter 3. - Mangekyo**

It was dark… _very_ dark. So dark, in fact, that she feared she may have become blind. There was no sound either, so the possibility of being deaf was also added to her list of concerns. To make matters worse, something was also preventing her from being able to move.

The darkness was suffocating.

She couldn't breathe.

She couldn't _think._

She could feel her sanity starting to slip…

_Calm down…_ she ordered herself. _It's just an illusion to scare you. This isn't real._

Suddenly, she saw a huge red moon appear in the sky, and with it, the familiar yet unusually deserted streets of Konoha. Still unable to move her arms and legs, she tore her eyes away from the comfort and familiarity of her home and shut them tightly.

_This isn't real…_

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a blood curdling scream that echoed in her mind and chilled her to the bone. She could not keep herself from hearing, even as she heard the unmistakable sound of a body being thrown on the ground in front of her. Knowing that she was not going to like what she saw, she forced her eyes open, but regretted it immediately as a familiar blonde head came into view.

It was Ino, lying facedown in a pool of her own blood. She was dead.

_It's not real…_

"Ino…" she said in despair, eyes filling with unshed tears. Tearing her eyes away from her close friend, she gazed at her surroundings in shock.

Many were dead, and some were on the ground, barely alive. With the dead included Ino, Lee, with several kunai protruding from his back, and her beloved sensei, Kakashi, who had been decapitated. She saw two figures not yet dead that were lying nearby, Naruto and Neji. Naruto struggled to pull himself to his feet as the Hyuuga prodigy coughed up blood.

It was then that she noticed a shadowed figure that hovered above them in the darkness, and the Akatsuki cloak gave away his identity immediately.

"Tell me, Sakura." Itachi said as Naruto charged at him in anger, a fist raised. "What is it that you fear most?"

_It's not real…_

Smirking, the Uchiha turned towards the charging blonde and shoved a kunai into his stomach. Naruto froze in his tracks and stared ahead with wide eyes filled with horror.

"NARUTO!" she screamed. "NO!"

"I know what you fear." Itachi continued as the teenage boy collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Clenching his teeth in rage, Neji weakly reached out for a discarded kunai, but stopped short when Itachi took a fistful of the Hyuuga's hair and roughly pulled him to his feet by it. Yanking back his head by his hair in a similar fashion to what he previously did to Sakura, he held the sharp blade of a kunai to Neji's throat.

"Don't!" she pleaded.

Itachi dragged the blade across the boy's throat in one deft movement. A choking sound omitted from Neji's agape mouth as he blood freely flowed from his wound down the front of his shirt. He collapsed to the ground not far from Naruto and Ino.

_It's not real…_

Tears flowing down her cheeks at the sight of her dead comrades and friends, she averted her eyes and struggled with all her might to move, but it was no use.

"You fear being alone." Itachi's chillingly soft voice said. "You're friends and family mean everything to you, and that is your weakness. Your love makes you foolish… and weak."

"Stop!" she pleaded. "Please, don't hurt them!"

_It's not real…_

She kept her eyes shut tight, but could not block the screams as he killed them, one by one. Kiba, Hinata, Tsunade, Shikamaru, Shino, Choji… They were all murdered before her brutally and she couldn't do a damn thing. Even now, after all the training she had been put through, she was still just the same girl who couldn't protect anyone. She knew this was all an illusion, but her mind was making it seem so real. She could feel and smell the warm blood as it soaked through her clothes and hair. She was completely at Itachi's mercy…

**_You're weak and annoying…_** a very familiar voice spoke in her head. It could only belong to one person.

"Sasuke…?" she said aloud, reopening her eyes. They widened in horror when she realized that her beloved Sasuke was engaged in a battle with Itachi.

She screamed for him to stop as Sasuke charged at Itachi in a moment of rage, screaming something illegible as he pulled out a kunai. Once he had made it within yards of his target, however, he was blown back as he was hit with several kunai. He lay on his back and spat out blood as it dribbled down his chin.

Itachi slowly approached the bleeding form of his brother and kneeled next to him before wrapping his slender fingers around his neck. Bringing himself to his feet, he held Sasuke above his head by his neck.

Sasuke, in his weak state, could only grip Itachi's forearm weakly and struggle for breath.

"SASUKE!" Sakura screamed at the top of her lungs. Suddenly able to move again, she shakily crawled forward, but it was too late. Sasuke's arm went limp and Itachi threw the lifeless form of his brother to the ground. Tears soaking her face, she crawled over to Sasuke's corpse and cradled the head of her first love to her chest.

"It's not real… It's not…" this time, she said it aloud, but Sasuke's body didn't fade. His wide, glassy eyes stared ahead blankly. The eyes of a dead man.

To her utter shock and horror, a new figure appeared.

With pink hair and green eyes.

It was herself.

"No…" she whispered as her heart rate quickened. " It's not me…"

"You are weak. You always will be weak." With that said, the older Uchiha lunged forward and pierced the look-alike in the chest, blood gushing from the wound.

She gasped as she felt a stabbing pain in her own chest. Looking down at her blood-covered hands and bleeding chest, she realized that her vision was starting to blur. She rose her eyes to the man standing before her, and the last thing she saw before blacking out was his blazing sharingan eyes and a smirk decorating his face.

----------

When Sakura finally woke up, the first thing she did was lean over the side of the futon to vomit, but unfortunately, her stomach was too empty to do even that.

Clenching her shaking hands into fists, she winced as pains from hunger and soreness passed over her in waves. The things she saw while in the Mangekyo… they were too horrible to even fathom. She could still see the tortured faces of each and every one of her friends and family as they were brutally killed by Itachi…

A sob escaped her lips as she tried to block out the memories, but it was no good. She cursed that Uchiha bastard with all the hate she could muster for making her witness such things. It was cruel and sick. _He _was cruel and sick.

Laying back down on the futon, Sakura winced as a wave of hunger passed over her again. At least they took the time to put her on the futon this time. If she woke up on the concrete floor one more time, she was going to scream.

She jumped as a knock resounded from the door of the cell. Before she could answer, the door opened and in came that blonde guy from before, holding a tray of food.. She glared at him, despite how weak she felt.

"You're awake… yeah." he said, entering the small cell casually.

"Yes. What's it to you?" she snapped.

"Oh. You're a feisty one, aren't you?… yeah."

"Fuck you."

"Young ladies should use such foul language… yeah." he replied with a chuckle.

"Yeah, well give me my kunai I'll show you how much of a _young lady _I am."

"Well, I guess that means you don't want this food I brought you.. Yeah." he said, sighing dramatically.

Sakura opened her mouth to retaliate, but abruptly went silent as her stomach began to growl. The blonde man laughed and approached her on the futon before setting the tray in front of her.

"Just eat it and stop bitching… yeah."

Despite the fact that it went against all her morals to accept food from the enemy, her body was too weak with hunger to do anything besides reach out and lift the spoon of soup out of the bowl. She froze before drinking it however, and gazed at it suspiciously.

"There's nothing wrong with it… yeah." the blonde man said. He reached out and took the spoon from her before lifting it to his own lips and draining it of its contents. "See? It's safe… yeah." He placed the spoon back in the bowl.

Taking his word for it, Sakura quickly devoured all that was on the tray, but ended up choking as a result. The man before her laughed and lightly pounded on her back to dislodge whatever was choking her.

"You shouldn't eat so fast… yeah. It's bad for your health." he said with amusement. "I'm Deidara, by the way. What's your name?… yeah."

"Haruno Sakura." she replied. She gazed at him in slight astonishment. He was so… different from the others. Of all the Akatsuki she had the misfortune of meeting, he was by far the most cheerful. He was almost always grinning, and his eyes didn't reflect a murderous intent, nor did his attitude. On the contrary, his only visible eye seemed to reflect a bit of mischief, and sadness. She inwardly wondered what could have happened to him to make him what he is today, and what his reasons were for joining the Akatsuki. Whatever the reason, she found herself liking him a bit.

**_Are you crazy?_** Inner Sakura exclaimed angrily. **_He's an Akatsuki! You are supposed to find a way out of here, not make friends with cold-blooded killers!_**

"Where is Itachi?" she asked, gazing at Deidara intensely. "And how long have I been unconscious?"

"Itachi and Kisame are away on a mission… yeah, so I was asked, or told, to watched over you until they got back, seeing as how I'm not going anywhere for a while… yeah." he replied. "As for your other question, you were out for two days… yeah. Itachi should be back later tonight… yeah."

"Where is Hinata?" Sakura questioned.

"In another cell… yeah."

"I want to see her."

"I don't think-- Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt… yeah." he grinned at her. "But first, I was told to get you cleaned up when you awoke. Follow me… yeah."

----------

Deidara led Sakura down one of the halls of the Akatsuki headquarters until he stopped before one of the doors. Still grinning, he turned to face her.

"This is the washroom… yeah." he said. "The clothes Itachi instructed for you to wear are on one of the sinks… yeah. Don't take too long, and I wouldn't suggest you try anything… yeah. There's no way that you will be able to get out of the building without getting caught, especially if you can't use your chakra… yeah."

Clenching her fists in anger, she pushed open the door and gazed at the large washroom curiously. It wasn't anything amazing, but it was nice, despite its simplicity. The white tiles were strikingly clean and there was a rather large tub in the corner of the room that looked large enough to fit at least six people. Not that I'm implying that Akatsuki members bathe together, of course… That would just be plain scary.

Grabbing one of the many fluffy dark blue towels from the closet, she made her way over to the bathtub before removing her dirt-covered and torn clothes. As the tub was filling with water, she sat on the edge and wondered how she could have gotten into this mess.

It was supposed to be a quick search and rescue. Akatsuki should not have been involved, but it turned out that they had everything to do with it.

Sakura lowered herself into the water and immediately relaxed as it relieved her sore muscles and soothed the throbbing pain of the countless bruises. It didn't take long before she started to doze off, her head resting lightly on the edge of the tub.

----------

_A little pink-haired girl by the name of Haruno Sakura trudged her way through the snow, leaving behind a trail of tiny footprints. A large gust of wind came and nearly swept the petite girl off her feet, but she was able to keep her footing. She brushed past many cheerful people who were currently enjoying the festives of Konoha's New Year's eve festival. She herself had indulged herself to a few little games and contests, and had managed to win a small box of sparklers, which she now held in her hand. Real fireworks lit up the sky above her in bright colors. Her mother was probably looking for her by now, but she wanted to take a quick walk through the snow before she had to leave. _

_She had always liked snow, so she watched in admiration as the light flecks of white fluttered and swirled around her, sticking to her bubblegum pink hair and clinging to her clothes. _

_Blinking her eyes against the bitter cold air, her brow creased with curiosity when she noticed a lone figure sitting on a nearby bench. Upon closer inspection, she saw that it was an older boy, probably about 11 or 12. His ebony black hair was tied back in a low ponytail and his clothes were torn in several places. She even noticed some blood._

_His gaze was fixed on the ground and some of his hair obscured her view of his face. Afraid that he might be hurt, she hesitantly approached _

"_Um… excuse me, mister." she said shyly. "Are you okay?"_

_No answer._

"_Mister?"_

_Still no answer._

_Not used to being ignored, Sakura reached out to give his shoulder a prod. Before she made contact however, he spoke, making her jump in surprise._

"_Please leave." he said politely, but with a bit of an edge, keeping his gaze on the ground. Sakura ignored his request and sat next to him on the bench. They both sat in silence for a while, Sakura watching the fireworks in awe and the boy staring fixedly at the ground. Finally, the little pink-haired girl decided to break the silence._

"_There's blood all over you." she observed. "Are you hurt?"_

"_It's not mine." he replied. _

"_oh…" she fiddled with the box of sparklers for a moment before speaking again. "My name is Sakura. Haruno Sakura. What is your name?"_

_Ever so slowly, the boy beside her rose his head and locked eyes with her. She took in his delicate features in awe as he stared down at her, and couldn't help but be reminded of Sasuke-kun. His eyes were shaped somewhat feminine, and she marveled at the pretty onyx color. But she was surprised at the intensity she saw in them. He was still technically a child, but when she looked into his eyes, he seemed beyond his years, as if she were here talking to an adult instead of a boy. His eyes were a pool of intense emotions and seemed so distant that, when he looked at you, it seemed as if he were gazing into a different dimension. Lost, was the best way to describe his eyes. He seemed lost. _

"_Itachi." he said._

"_Nice to meet you, Itachi-kun!" she said, smiling up at him brightly._

_Itachi remained silent and continued to curiously gaze at the smiling girl. He took in everything from her peculiar pink hair, coat, and scarf, to her overlarge sparking green eyes full of life and happiness._

_She said her name was Sakura. How fitting._

_He also noticed that she was lovingly clutching a small, thin box in her pink mitten-clad hands. Everything about her screamed cute and tiny, and she seemed so fragile, as if a single touch would cause her to shatter. Tearing his eyes away from the small girl, he returned to his staring contest with his good pal… the ground._

"_So, whose blood is all over you, if it isn't yours?" Sakura asked, looking up at him with curiosity burning in her eyes. He took a moment to answer and thought over his reply carefully. He didn't want to be the one to open her eyes up to the cruelness of the world and possibly ruin the precious innocence she possessed, for it was very rare to come across such purity these days. He reasoned with himself in the end, that she would find out eventually, so sooner was better than later._

"_They were fools who interfered on a mission, so I killed them." he answered truthfully. _

_To his surprise, she didn't even blink upon hearing this._

"_But why did they have to die?" she asked. _

"_The world isn't nice, that's why." he replied. "In the life of a ninja, there is no mercy, no compassion, nothing. Kill or be killed. Trust and be betrayed. That is the way of a ninja."_

_Once again, she just stared at him without a reaction. He supposed it was probably because her childish mind could not comprehend what he had said, but he didn't think that was it. Something told him that she understood completely…_

"_It's getting late." Itachi stated, rising to his feet. This girl unnerved him, for he wasn't used to being around people like her. The people that surrounded him were cold, distant, and powerful; not bright and cheerful like the pathetic girl beside him. That's what being an Uchiha was about. _

"_Oh…" she looked down sadly. "I see. Bye, Itachi-kun.". _

_Someone would actually miss his company? This was a first. Before he could turn away to return to his home at the Uchiha complex, there was a loud boom from one of the more flashy fireworks, and he watched as the little girl looked up at the sky with a gasp, her mouth forming a small 'o'. Even he, an Uchiha child, couldn't help but admit that she was sort of cute in a way. His eyes rose to the sky as well, and he took in the bright lights and colors._

"_Do you like fireworks… Sakura-chan?" Itachi questioned, looking down at her from the corner of his eye. _

"_Um… yes." she replied._

_Giving her a small smile, he extended his hand out to her, and she stared at it in confusion._

"_Come with me." he said. "I know a place where you can see them better." Smiling back at him widely and with excitement, she joined hands with him and followed._

_-----_

"_I don't know about this, Itachi-kun." Sakura said nervously. "What if I fall?"_

"_You won't." he replied, removing his blood-soaked shirt and kneeling on the damp snow-covered grass. "Get on. I'll climb slowly."_

_Swallowing her fear, she stepped forward and climbed onto his back before wrapping her arms around his neck, closing her eyes tightly as she did so._

"_Loosen your grip, you won't fall." Once she had complied, he gathered chakra into his feet and swiftly climbed the tree. Placing her in a sitting position on a thick branch, he took a seat next to her and gave her shoulder a nudge._

"_You can open your eyes now." he said. Ever so slowly, Sakura opened her eyes and peered at what was before her. She gasped._

"_We're so high!" she exclaimed with excitement and awe. "Look, Itachi-kun! I can see my house from here! Oh! You were right, Itachi-kun! You can see the fireworks really good!" He looked down at her in amusement. _

"_You talk too much." he said._

"_Everyone says that…" she replied._

"_Even your friends?"_

"_I don't have any friends…" she said sadly, looking down at her mitten-clad hands where the box was still clasped. "Everyone makes fun of me because my forehead is big…" Looking up, she continued. "What about you, Itachi-kun? Do you have any friends?"_

"_No." he answered, his gaze returning to the sky. "Nobody has ever tried to befriend me. I have always distanced myself from everyone else, even my family. That is what happens when you are powerful. People fear and admire you from a distance."_

"_Don't you get lonely?" she questioned. He gave her a small smile in reply, but said nothing. When he didn't answer, she took it as a yes. He had to get lonely sometimes. She had no friends, but she at least had her family. When she needed human contact and love, she could always go to them, but he had no one… She couldn't even imagine what life would be like without anyone to talk to you like you were a normal person instead of a killer. She decided to change the subject._

"_That's a pretty necklace, Itachi-kun." she said, pointing at the black choker he wore around his neck with white beads here and there. "Where did you get it?"_

"_My mom gave it to me a while back." he replied with a shrug. "You can have it if you want."_

"_Oh, no. I couldn't--" _

"_Sakura!" a voice resounded in the distance. "Sakura! Where are you!" _

_Itachi looked at the little pink-haired girl beside him and was amused to see a look of horror and surprise on her face._

"_My mom!" she cried. "I forgot that she was looking for me!"_

_By the time they got to the ground again, the shouts were becoming more and more desperate. Sakura made to run to the voice but stopped short and embraced Itachi, much to the young Uchiha's surprise. He tensed, not used to human contact like this, but he couldn't exactly say that he hated it._

"_Goodbye, Itachi-kun." She said sadly, no wanting to leave so soon. She pulled away from him and took out one of her precious sparklers from the box she had been carrying._

"_Here, you can take this home for later!" Giving her another small smile, he took the sparkler from her and tucked it into one of his weapons pouches._

"_You're a sweet girl, Sakura-chan." he said, tucking a stray strand of pick hair behind her ear. "Take care."_

"_Bye!" she said with a bright smile, turning and running towards her mother's voice, unknowing to the fact that a certain Uchiha was watching wistfully as she left._

----------

Sakura awoke with a start when she heard a loud rapping that came from the bathroom door.

"Haruno-san? Is everything alright?…yeah." Deidara called. "You've been in there for over half an hour.. Yeah."

"Um… Yes! Just a minute!" Sakura replied, stumbling out of the tub and snatching up her towel. She couldn't believe that she had let herself fall asleep.

On the other hand, she was more surprised about what she had dreamt about. She had never forgotten about that New Year's experience, for she thought about it ever year around that time. She had just never put two and two together when it came to who the boy was, and now that she thought about it, it was foolish of her not to realize that the younger Itachi was the Uchiha prodigy. But that wasn't what concerned her. That's not what was currently plaguing her mind.

What could have happened within the time frame of two or three years to make such a seemingly kind person lose it enough to murder his own family, the ones who brought him into this world and raised him? What happened to Uchiha Itachi, the kind, polite, slightly shy version of him? He seemed a bit lost when she first met him, but he didn't seem like the type who would murder his whole family. Did something or someone get to him, or was he always a sadistical bastard? Perhaps that boy she had met all those years ago was only a lie, and he had only pretended to be who she thought he was. That would make sense, but something was telling her that there was more to it than that.

It was just something that would only come out with time, if it ever did.

Remembering what Deidara said about the clothes, Sakura gazed around the room until her eyes fell upon a small pile of clothing laying on one of the countertops next to a sink. She unfolded them and discovered that the clothes consisted of a black t-shirt and black pants, probably Itachi's, for they smelled of incense. What also gave away the ownership was the fact that they were over-large and baggy. In fact, she had to tie the side of her waist band in a knot to keep them from slipping off. She also rolled up the bottoms.

She suddenly felt very small… but she looked rather comical.

She quickly combed through her wet hair with her fingers before opening the door to the bathroom. A grinning Deidara met her on the other side.

"That looks good on you… yeah." he said.

"Yeah, very funny." she replied with a roll of her eyes. The blonde laughed, before motioning her to follow.

"Follow me, Haruno-san." he said.

"Please, call me Sakura." the pink-haired kunoichi requested. As she followed him through the hideout to who knows where. "I hate being called Haruno-san. It makes me feel really old."

"Very well then… Sakura." Deidara grinned at her before halting in front of a similar door to the one in her cell. "Hinata-chan is in here." Sakura had barely registered the 'chan' he added on the end of the girl's name before the door was opened. Stepping into the room with Deidara following close behind, her face brightened up upon seeing Hinata sitting on a futon in the corner of the room while eating a piece of bread.

"Sakura-san!" the girl exclaimed, rising from the futon and embracing her in a hug.

"Hinata-chan, I'm so glad that you are alright!" Sakura replied, hugging her back tightly.

"Were you kidnapped too, Sakura-san? What do you think they need us for?"

"I don't know…" Sakura lied, for she felt too ashamed to tell Hinata about her agreement with Itachi.

Her eyes scanned the room and she noticed that Hinata's cell was quite similar to hers, be it a bit nicer. She blinked upon noticing that there was another figure in the room aside from Deidara and Hinata standing beside the futon who she had not noticed before. He wore an Akatsuki cloak and had striking red hair and a frighteningly blank face. Her eyes widened in realization as she pointed at the one she remembered as Sasori.

"YOU!"

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Author's note: Sorry for the long delay, but I am currently in the process of moving across the country to the frozen hell-hole known as North Dakota. My parents must be INSANE. So in other words, I haven't been able to get to the computer as much as I would like. To make it up to you, I made this chapter several pages longer. The next chapter may be a bit delayed as well, but I will get on the computer at ever opportunity, so don't give up on me!

Itachi: I didn't get enough action in this chapter.

Shinju: Sure you did. What about the dream?

Itachi: The dream doesn't count.

Shinju: Why not?

Itachi: It just doesn't.

Shinju: Stop whining. You sound like your brother…

Itachi: (pulls out a kunai) Do you WANT to die?

Shinju: (pulls out a pokeball-like object) Bishounen ball GO! (tosses it at Itachi's feet)

Itachi: (gazes it with an eyebrow raised when nothing happens) (looks up at Shinju) What the hell was that supposed to b-- AHH! (is sucked into ball) (in tiny, faraway chipmunk-like voice) Let me out of here, you witch! How did you do that?

Shinju: (picks up ball) Review, please. (tosses ball into crowd of hysterical Itachi fangirls)


End file.
